It was a room filled with belongings, but felt empty. Rex Ryan, who still had his job as head coach, never was heard from. The Jets canceled Ryan’s afternoon news conference without explanation. How strange. So often, Ryan says too much. Suddenly, he had nothing to say.

Ryan got off easy on Black Monday, when many others around the NFL lost their jobs. Jets owner Woody Johnson made the right move, firing Mike Tannenbaum as general manager. But after two seasons of empty promises and subpar results, Johnson would have been justified if he had also fired Ryan.

Instead, Ryan got a reprieve, as Johnson issued a statement saying he still believed Ryan had the "passion, talent and drive" to lead the Jets successfully. Ryan had better prove that quickly, because he's running out of time.

The decision to fire Tannenbaum while keeping Ryan sets up another weird dynamic, one that is more likely to fail than succeed. If Johnson finds a strong GM candidate who doesn’t like Ryan, will Johnson hire that G.M. anyway? Or move on to the next candidate.

In this case, bringing in a new general manager without firing Ryan is like putting new frosting on a stale cake. Sometimes, it’s better to start from scratch.

It remains to be seen if Ryan feels threatened by the new GM, or if they will have a solid working relationship. General managers like to hire their coaches, just like coaches like to hire their staffs. Maybe that’s why Ryan was silent Monday. If Ryan had said what really was on his mind, the Jets may have had more controversy to deal with.

Unlike last season, when the Jets’ locker room turmoil exploded at the end, Monday’s comments from players were relatively tame. Tim Tebow was nowhere to be seen, already long gone, surely headed elsewhere next season. Antonio Cromartie also was nowhere in sight. Santonio Holmes, who was at the epicenter of last year’s controversy, passed through the hallway, but declined speaking to the media. For the Jets, that probably was a good thing.

Revis made some pointed comments about leaks from the Jets' locker room from anonymous sources. This has been another problem during the Ryan regime. He's viewed as a players’ coach, yet so many of his players have underperformed, or made comments that have been counterproductive to unity. Revis wants that to stop, despite calling Ryan a "great coach."

"Anonymous sources, it’s good you bring that up," Revis said. "Maybe guys just need to be quiet. Try and keep this locker room positive. We all got to stick together as a team. It doesn’t matter if you’re the best player on the team, down to the kicker and the punter. If you don’t, it can affect a football team. It can affect the locker room."

Sanchez also has regressed as a quarterback under Ryan, as has the Jets’ offense. Ryan is a proven defensive coach, but it’s expected that offensive coordinator Tony Sparano will be fired, meaning Sanchez will have his third coordinator in three seasons. The next general manager should have the power to overrule Ryan on personnel decisions, particularly when it comes to offense. It would also be wise for the next GM to suggest the next offensive coordinator, because this is clearly not Ryan’s forte.

Bringing in Sparano and Tebow failed miserably. Sparano didn't have a set plan for Tebow, Ryan didn't want to play Tebow, and having Tebow around cast a shadow over Sanchez. Bringing in Tebow may have been Johnson’s idea, but Ryan seemed to have no clue how to make it work. Sometimes, Ryan even had trouble deciding which quarterbacks should dress for games.

Sanchez said he wanted to return as the Jets’ starting quarterback next season, and hoped to get that chance.

Ryan is getting another crack as well, but he's lucky. There has been a lot of collateral damage during his last two seasons. A general manager has been fired. Another offensive coordinator is probably on the way out. Sanchez’s confidence has been damaged, and Tebow was underused and mistreated.

After reaching the AFC championship game his first two seasons, Ryan must prove he can get the Jets back to being a playoff team. On Black Monday, Johnson gave Ryan another chance. Ryan should consider himself lucky.